You seem to believe placebos do not affect actual medical problems. It's interesting in this regard that in placebo trials vs a gastric acid reducer (to treat

You seem to believe placebos do not affect actual medical problems. It's interesting in this regard that in placebo trials vs a gastric acid reducer (to treat ulcers), 48% of those taking a placebo improved, while 76% of those taking the real drug improved. The interesting part is that it's now known that ulcers are not caused by gastric acid, but by bacteria, so even the "real" drug here worked via placebo effect, but it did work for most patients. Edit: source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo#Gastric_and_duodenal_ulcers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo#Gastric_and_duodenal_ul...